Times of India has linked back to this blog. in a section called ‘women molested’ *face palm*
and, it links back to this page on the ToI Website
I must appreciate the Time’s of India’s ability to get all searchers of all sort of stuff onto its site.. I wonder if there is a page for “indian p*rn”
But thats become the big question thats derailed the bills progress in the House. Congressmen and women have tacitly admitted that they dont understand how the Internet works, and Internet experts have argued that the nations lawmakers dont understand how the Hollywood-supported bill stands to destroy the Internet as we know it by opening up the possibility of widespread censorship. The emerging theme, weve said before, is that SOPA uses a draconian solution to address a problem that we truly dont understand. If you asked Reddits hivemind, they would tell you emphatically: it is a bad idea.
via Rupert Murdoch vs. The Internet – Technology – The Atlantic Wire.
Worldwide the net has struck a blow at the powers that be (TPTB), and those stakeholders are striking back…..
I was so inspired by all those who wanted to ‘save’ women by ‘covering them up’ that I decided to apply that logic to other issues. The result is today’s DNA column.
Open any newspaper and you will see small news items on burglaries. Break-ins and robberies are on the rise. Youngsters are taking to burglary to fund a lavish lifestyle. They rob from the upwardly mobile, the rich and fence the goods that they have stolen to earn cash that they use to buy more. They want a quick and easy way of earning money. Most burglaries are not violent and are opportunistic crimes. If you looked at the root cause of the crime it is that there are people in the world who have more than the robbers. And it is that ‘more’ that becomes an object of attraction. If people didn’t earn money, become rich and have wealth there would be no one who would want to rob them.
Robbery, as a crime, therefore is not caused by people who want to get rich quick, but by excessive wealth. Rather than criminalise robbery we should seek to get to the root causes of burglary and that is prosperity. People rob from those who have more. So, if everyone had less there would be no robbery. The solution for robbery is not better policing but to ban wealth.
Dowry deaths are not caused by excessively greedy people but by the institution of marriage. If people cohabited instead of getting married, then possibly there would be no question of dowry and therefore no dowry deaths. If parents stopped getting their children, especially their daughters, married, then the issue of dowry would cease to matter. So, if marriage is the cause of dowry, then rather than criminalising dowry would it not be more effective to ban marriages? After all, in cultures where marriages are no longer relevant you don’t hear of dowry deaths. So, the solution for dowry deaths is to ban marriages.
India has the highest number of traffic accidents in the world. Causes of death include speeding, poor safety, drunk driving, lack of helmets, lack of seat belts, jaywalking and the like. But, if you dig deeper and look at the root cause of road accidents, you will conclude that it is the presence of motorised vehicles. A vehicle weighing a ton, even travelling at a speed 20 kilometres per hour can do serious damage to life and limb. Obviously the solution to solving the terrible problem caused by road traffic is to ensure that vehicles don’t ever leave the parking bay. So, it will be within the law to buy a vehicle but not to take it out. No traffic, no traffic accidents. It is actually that simple.
If the logic in the above paragraphs seems a bit wonky, it is because it is. Throwing away the baby with the bathwater is no way of reducing a problem. If anything, it exacerbates it. But, the paragraphs above were in the same vein as those who, in the recent past, called for women to be more circumspect in their attire to prevent sexual assaults. If these people were members of far right religious organisations one wouldn’t have paid any heed to them. However, the people who called for women to be ‘better’ dressed included the Andhra Pradesh DGP Dinesh Reddy who linked flimsy fashionable clothing to rape; and KK Seethamma, the head of the committee against sexual harassment in Bangalore University, who believes that women wearing ‘obscene clothes’ invite rape. Her definition of modest includes full-sleeved blouses with saris and long kurtas with jeans. Neither Reddy nor Seethamma were speaking as private citizens. They were both speaking as authorities occupying positions funded by the taxpayer. One is a policeman who is supposed to make the world safer for all, the other is a teacher who is supposed to inculcate values, not dogma.
Telling women that dressing ‘properly’ will reduce chances of their being victims of sexual assault is lulling women into a false sense of security. In the National Crime Records Bureau report on all types of crimes that take place in India, among the more chilling statistics are rape figures. Every hour, two women somewhere in India are raped. Every third day, an elderly woman is sexually assaulted. About two girls aged under 10 are raped every day. Most of these are outside metros and cities in regions where women are dressed in a traditional manner. Fully covered. It wasn’t their clothes that caused the crime. It was their gender. The problem is not with what women wear, it is with society that allows men to get away with rape and blames the woman for inviting it.
my piece in the latest Pragati
King Trishanku of the Ikshvaku (Solar) dynasty was a fascinating personality. An ancestor of King Ram, King Trishanku had a reputation of being a fair and just monarch. Like all good monarchs of that time, a time before sin became entrenched in society; he followed the rules of Dharma in all aspects of his life. King Trishanku had one wish. He wantedto ascend to heaven in his mortal body. To ascend to the heavens or descend to hell, normally one had to die. But King Trishanku wanted to achieve this aim without going through the natural process – death. Indra, The King of Devas was not deeply enamoured with the idea of a mortal ascending to the heavens—probably because he saw it asa threat to his own power base. After all, Indra had faced a threat to his position from the mortal king Nahusha—who replaced him briefly. The Devas refused Trishanku permission to ascend to the heavens without dying. While this would deter any other mortal, Trishanku was made of sterner stuff. He went to his guru, Sage Vashishta to help him achieve his goal. When the Sage turned him down, the king pleaded with Sage Vishwamitra, who promised to help him. Vishvamitra performed a great sacrifice to help Trishanku reach the heavens in his mortal body. However, as the King began to ascend, Indra began using his powers to block the ascent. The powers of Vishvamitra and Indra nullified each other and Trishanku was left suspended in the middle—neither following the laws of earth nor those of heaven. Vishwamitra then created a whole new universe around Trishanku—a universe which is born of compromise. Trishanku ruled Trishanku’s heaven, the rest of the universe was ruled by the Devas. The term Trishanku’s heaven, from then on, has been used to denote a compromise.
There is a point to recounting this ancient tale. Politics and institution building in modern India have more in common with Trishanku and the art of compromise,than Lord Ram and the rule of Dharma. Institutions are created and given form by the will of one person. Be it the Planning Commission and Nehru, the Election Commission and T N Seshan,or the Jan Lok Pal and Team Anna. Their suggestions for independence are linked to their own skill sets. But institutions have to be divorced from that which exists today, and built so that they endure the test of time and remain relevant. Institutions cannot exist in limbo —in their own universe, with their own rules that do not dovetail with the remaining system.
You can read the remaining article here ….
KD got me this lovely 35mm macro lens for the Olympus E-510. Over Diwali, when we were in Lonavala, i had fun with the lens. Yes, it has taken me a couple of months to upload the pictures.
The Bougainvillae in a neighbour’s garden. my garden has the standard white, and magenta, but this colour was quite outstanding.
The lens makes this leaf seem a lot more interesting than it actually is 
when i saw this via the viewfinder, all i could think off was the giant worm in Dune
One of the things i have really enjoyed about the camera is that it compensates for shakes. I do shoot steady, but even then there is going to be some shake that would cause the image to blur. But, with this camera no. I should be using a tripod, i carry it around, but most cases I do without.
And, this grew just outside my gate…
I was too lazy to change lenses, plus it was dusty and i ddin’t want dust inside the camera – so used the 35mm macro for some village shots. They turned out quite decent.
Obviously i will use the other two lenses for scene shooting, but in a pinch this will do.
In the name of freedom – freedom from regulation – the banks were permitted to wreck the economy. In the name of freedom, taxes for the super-rich are cut. In the name of freedom, companies lobby to drop the minimum wage and raise working hours. In the same cause, US insurers lobby Congress to thwart effective public healthcare; the government rips up our planning laws(1); big business trashes the biosphere. This is the freedom of the powerful to exploit the weak, the rich to exploit the poor.
via George Monbiot – How Freedom Became Tyranny.
The Boss woman wishes all of you a very happy and woof filled 2012… she personally didn’t like 2011, netiher did I
A person who wasn’t really there this year. A person who has been ailing for a long time. Yet, this year more than any other, I missed his presence, his wisdom, his sense of humour, his ability to rise above politics and stand for the nation. This year, my person of the year is Atal Bihari Vajpayee
I can’t remember the last time that I missed someone in public life, so much. He had charisma, brilliant oratory, and a wicked sense of humour. But, above all that was an innate sense of decency. And, it is this decency that I miss.
As a young person getting interested in politics for the first time, i have this memory of an India Today cover with Salman Khursheed and ABV hugging – they had gone to Geneva to discuss Kashmir, on behalf of India. The PM at that time was PVN. There is a time for politics, and there is a time for setting it aside, and all concerned knew that lakshman rekha.
I wish the Government of India puts its petty differences aside and awards him the Bharat Ratna next year. Let it be in his lifetime, not posthumous …
For those too young to remember him, here is he in action in Parliament talking about the Jan Lok Pal Bill – yes it has been under discussion from before i was born (and that is a long time ago )
My column in Today’s DNA
The 1976 Hollywood film Network gave the world one of the most fascinating characters in celluloid. Howard Beale, an Oscar winning role for actor Peter Finch, is a news anchor for a national news programme. Fired because his ratings are tumbling, Beale manages to pull back and raise ratings by not presenting the news but becoming it. He launches into diatribe after diatribe sending ratings sky-high. In one of the most remembered and quoted scenes in cinema, he tells his audience to do one thing “…go to the window, open it, stick your head out and yell: “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.” And marvel of marvels, in typical filmy style, people across America do just that. They open their windows, stick out their heads and shout “I am mad as hell, and I am not going to take this anymore”.
2011 has been a Howard Beale kind of a year. A year where people across the world, stood up to say that they were mad as hell, they didn’t want to take this anymore. The nature of the protests has been different, but protest has been a vital part of the year. So much so that Time Magazine has declared that “The Protester” to be the person of the year.
While protest is good, and protest is a fundamental right that citizens have in Democratic countries, it is important to see beyond the protest and look at the cause of protest. People are not irrational to protest about everything under the sun. Most people in most parts of the world take discomfort and mismanagement in their stride. They do not, as a rule, take to the streets to protest on a daily basis. They become vocal about their protests only when the systemic malady is so deep rooted that unless they raise their voice, things will not change. Protests are a cry for change. The response of Government’s, especially in democratic countries, is a stated intention to change. . But mere intention alone cannot bring about change. . It is only when intention is converted into sustained action that allows for systemic change, that protest will not descend into anarchy.
In India, the protest has been against corruption. On the face of it revelations of large scale fraud by ministers at the centre, various states brought people onto the street. But, scratch the surface and it is something deeper. The humiliation of having to pay a bribe, the anger of having to go over and over again to get basic paper work passed, the frustration of living with inadequate infrastructure, the hopelessness of not having aspirations met, all culminated into the anti corruption movement. The anger has been festering for a long time. The revelation of the scale of corruption in CWG, 2G, various mining scams, was merely a catalyst. The demand for an agency that ends corruption was the simplistic response to a complex problem. Should corruption end – obviously. But, would the Jan Lok Pal deliver a corruption free society – No. That can only happen when the intention to end corruption is systemic. And action is taken to ensure that every part of the system is geared towards delivering whatever it is supposed to, to the intended recipient in a transparent manner.
The Government of India has some excellent schemes that if implemented well, would have transformed India.. But the schemes have remained at the intention level. For example, the Public Distribution System (PDS) – popularly called the ration shop – is intended to deliver food grains and kerosene at subsidized rates to whoever is entitled to it. Unfortunately, there are so many leakages that a fraction of those eligible end up getting the food. Also, the quality of the grains is so poor that those eligible for it, buy food from elsewhere. The intention is that no one goes hungry. Unfortunately, the application is that those running the system get rich, those who are supposed to receive benefits remain hungry. A simpler method would be direct cash transfers to the intended recipient. Similarly the Right to Education mandates that every child over the age of six goes to school. But in most government run schools – especially in rural India there is a severe shortage of teachers. Monies are allocated, children are herded into school. But, there is no outcome.
So for 2012 the wish for the Government is simple. Move beyond intention. Work out sustainable action. Action is not what you think conforms to some ideological construct. Action is what delivers the intention. When that happens you will deliver Governance.
The last post on the blog created quite a ruckus. Didn’t expect it to get so many views or be talked about so much. FirstPost.in had its top featured story on it – and with an extensive quote from this blog . I spent a lot of Friday discussing this issue with youngsters, netizens and others.
It is common sense and responsible grown up behavior to tell youngsters that actions have consequences, and they need to know what these are before they embark on anything.
I tell students at the start of each term that plagiarism is wrong. if caught it can go on their record. If i catch plagiarised projects – i throw a tantrum (in class) and make them redo it. This is despit the fact that the industry they will work in, has been turning a blind eye to copies for ever. If i was brining up teenagers I would tell them about the birds and the bees. tell them that unprotected sex can lead to pregnancy or to Sexually transmitted diseases. That doesn’t mean i am stopping them from either cheating or having a good time.nor does it mean I am telling them to go out and have sex with random strangers. I am simply telling them, if they do this they could end up in trouble.
Going to jail – even for the good of the nation – is in the same space. Know what you are doing. why you are doing this, and understand the consequences. this is not chor police with your friends in your building compound. This is real life…. Before i wrote this piece I spoke to friends who are practicing lawyers in Bombay HC, and after i wrote this piece and began getting feedback I spoke to them again. The police may take you to a maidan, the judges may let you go, there may be no charges, you may end up rich and successful and in the US. yes to all of that. But there are also people who are giving haazri 20 years after the mandal agitaiton. Both sides co-exist. By all means, if you feel so strongly about the anti corruption movement, and you believe that the best way to express your anger is to participate in Jail Bharo – then you have my respect. but, don’t go in blind.
The flipside of the post is that I attracted the stormtroopers…am not sure if they are associated with the IAC or not. I asked them yesterday if this person was one of their’s – there was no response. I guess i have to trudge down to the cyber crime department in town to file a complaint. wonder why cybercrime depts. don’t let you fill complaints on-line
Am not sure what i should get more bugged about – the lies or the obsession…
If you have the time, and can read Devnagiri & understand Hindi – also read this. This is from someone in the IAC – posted on FB.
